Marvel Comics has reportedly been hit hard as part of Disney’s latest round of layoffs, with longtime publishing executive David Gabriel said to be out after 23 years at the company.
It’s also reported that editor Devin Lewis has been let go, who was recently behind this month’s issue of Daredevil #1, which sold 300k copies.
David Gabriel reportedly out after 23 years
According to the reports from Bleeding Cool, David Gabriel is out at Marvel after more than two decades with the company.
Gabriel served as Senior Vice President of Print, Sales and Marketing, and he was one of the key figures behind Marvel’s publishing business for years.
He wasn’t just another executive with a title. Gabriel played a major role in sales strategy, retailer relations, marketing, and many of Marvel’s biggest publishing decisions.
Devin Lewis also reportedly gone
It’s also been learned that editor Devin Lewis is reportedly out, which comes as a big surprise.
The timing stands out, as Lewis was coming off a big week tied to Daredevil #1, which reportedly sold around 300,000 copies, according to writer Stephanie Phillips on TikTok.
Lewis had been with Marvel for years and worked on books including Daredevil, Moon Knight, Punisher, Morbius, Spirits of Violence, and 1776.
More Marvel staff reportedly affected
Bleeding Cool also reported additional layoffs tied to Marvel.
Those names include:
- Timothy Cheng, Executive Director of Communications
- Lauren Bisom, Senior Editor (Marvel Kids line, Marvel Zombies and Strange Tales)
- Darren Shan, Editor (X-Men Outback, X-Men 97, and the Age of Revelation titles)
This means the cuts go beyond one department and hit multiple parts of Marvel’s operation, including editorial and communications (publicity).
What happened?
Through this site, I helped Marvel promote its Marvel Cosmic line from around 2007 to 2011. Back then, the editor said that sales were “rock solid.” Today, Marvel can barely move five issues.
Then Disney took over, and the brand went downhill.
The company pushed its diversity agenda, and under then-EIC Axel Alonso, Marvel rolled out the “Marvel NOW!” era, which killed off or replaced classic characters. That’s not all as the creators were opening hostile to fans (and still are).
Kevin Feige later adapted the same woke approach to the post-Endgame MCU, and the results speak for themselves.
Fans left in droves, and here we are.
Now Disney is laying people off and making major cuts at Marvel Comics and elsewhere. The irony is obvious, because Disney is completely responsible for the damage.
The possible light at the end of the tunnel is that, according to a laid-off Disney employee, Disney is toning down its DEI push, but the question is whether it’s already too late.
